1 January 2015

If you're in doubt about whether antisemitism exists in Britain, read the Facebook page Everyday Antisemitism.

The Guardian's had some good articles recently on antisemitism in the UK, especially within the left-wing. The comments section (never read the comments) shows that the problem is real, and also that some people don't recognise offensive and antisemitic comments. So here is the EU's working draft definition of antisemitism.

There's obviously anti-semitic stuff, and then there's a grey area around Israel and Zionism, and this document has a reasonable go at delineating that. Summary: Criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic, but anti-Israel comments can be antisemitic.

Some people seem to feel that any anti-Israeli statement is fine as long as it doesn't use the word "Jew". That's problematic. Of course Israel can be criticised for e.g. its poor human rights record. But also it is possible to be racist about Israel and Israelis. To debate whether such comments are technically antisemitic or merely racist-towards-a-nation seems besides the point.

On the recent Labour Party problems, some on the left have tried to dismiss the issue, arguing that it is being used to unfairly attack Corbyn -- whilst Zac Goldsmith and the Tory Party can get away with running a really racist anti-Muslim campaign. I think this is true, but dismissing the issue is wrong. The problem of antisemitism is real, and should be addressed.

My own experience is I'm happy to say I rarely encounter antisemitism, but I have encountered it, and in leftwing groups (although there's a sampling bias there, as I rarely hang out with UKIPpers).

Note: This post was backdated from May 2016, because that is the way to set front-page ordering on this blog.

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The platypus caused consternation, shattered existing categories. It's existence was undeniable, but how should taxonomic theory be adapted to accommodate this uncomfortable fact? This blog is also hard to classify. It loosely follows the professional interests and activities of Daniel Winterstein. Topics are likely to range from business affairs to new media via data science and abstract mathematics.